Soldier accused of Afghan massacre ‘thought he was doing the right thing’

A soldier accused of massacring 16 civilians, nine of them children, told a comrade he thought he was ‘doing the right thing’, a court has heard.

The court heard that Robert Bales did not know why he was being arrested after the attack (Picture: Reuters/ /Department of Defense)

Staff Sgt Robert Bales was caught on camera running out of the darkness with his alleged victims’ blood smeared on his face and clothes, the US army hearing was told.

The 39-year-old is said to have returned to Camp Belambay, Kandahar in Afghanistan and told Sgt James McLaughlin what he had done.

‘I thought it was ridiculously out of the realm of normal possibility, sir,’ Sgt McLaughlin, told the hearing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

Both he and Cpl David Godwin went to the camp’s gates to look for their comrade, who the night before had been watching revenge film Man On Fire and discussing how more should have been done to avenge a soldier losing a leg in a bomb blast six days earlier.

The court was played a video of Bales being taken into custody on March 11, saying: ‘Are you f***ing kidding me?’

Cpl Godwin told the court: ‘I kind of thought that Bob thought he was doing this to better us.’

The prosecutor, Lt Col Jay Morse described Bales’s actions as ‘deliberate’ and ‘methodical’, adding he knew the villagers were mostly women and children.

Bales, who has made no plea, faces 16 counts of premeditated murder and six of attempted murder.